Playstation 3 Shooting

Playstation 3 hit the market of Japan November 11th of 2006, and the US, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Canada market on the 17th of the same month 2006.  Its release was like a dream come true to millions of people waiting to get one; although the supply was quite lesser than the demand resulting to people racing to stores to get one, some waiting in line for hours, and even several people camping outside shops to ensure that they were some of the “firsts” to get hold of the much awaited Playstation series.

Playstation 3 (PS3) Connected Violent Occurrences

These scenarios were rather common the day Playstation 3 was released in the US, there were several reported violent occurrences connecting to PS3’s release, including a number of Playstation 3 shooting incidents.  According to reports, one Playstation 3 shooting episode was outside a Wal-Mart department store in Putman Connecticut, around 3am when Michael Penaka (21) was camping outside the store (along with several other customers around) to be among those who’d get the Playstation 3 first when the store opened; however, two assailants tried rob the people camped outside the store, including him, and when he refused to give his wallet, was shot a number of times. A spokeswoman of Wal-Mart said Michael Penaka was given one Playstation 3 for free, aside from the ones he bought. 

This was not the only Playstation 3 shooting occurrence; another reported case was somewhat different because it involved police officers serving a search warrant to Peyton Strickland (18) accused of armed robbery, breaking and entering, and assault with deadly weapon to Justin Raines who just bought two pieces of Playstation 3 when two suspects stole what he bought and left him with bruises and bumps; in a series of “under investigation” events during the serving of the warrant, Strickland was shot and died. 

Another Playstation 3 shooting incident reported, was a drive-by shooting that injured four people who were in line to buy the Playstation 3 at Best Buy store, including a reporter of 27 Newfirst, Elizabeth Dorsett who was interviewing Playstation 3 aficionados when someone started shooting on them; the drive-by shooting involved BB guns, and luckily nobody was seriously injured.

This violence surrounding Playstation 3 release and buying, including the long lines and sacrifices that people had to do to get hold of the PS3 has marked something unpleasant linked to PS3, and an eye opener as well of how far people would go to get the latest entertainment technology.